Dispensing machine valve



Jan. 15, 1935. c. SCHMUTZER DISPENSING MACHINE VALVE Filed NOV. 14, 1935 ATTORNEYS Patented Jan.15 ,1 935 1 v 1,988,142-

DISPENSING MACHINE VALVE Charles Sch nlitzer', Irvingto'li, N. 1., ass'ighoi to Hoffman Beverage company, Newark, N. J., a corporationof New Jersey ApplicationNovember' 14, 1933, Serial No. 697,946

11 Claims; (01. 226 -122) This invention relates'to valves, and has par against the valve seat by a spring behind the ticular reference to valves for machines which valve.- The prongs of a U-shapedkeeper project dispense liquids under pressure, although it into the valve body at either side of the head and not limited to this use. keep the valve frointur'ning, this keeper being In such machines as generally constructed for held in place by a screw ring on the valve body, 5

dispensing liquid to bottles, the empty bottle is 'which also holds the valve packing gasket. elevated in alignment with a valve closeddis- 1 Accordingly, the valve need only be turned-apensing tube which is accordingly inserted into quarter-turn to disengage the head thereof from I the bottle a predetermined distance when a valve the valve seat flanges and to align it with the lifter on the tube is moved by the bottle mouth elongatedvalve body opening to release it after 10' into engagement with an air valve, which is acthe screw ring has been released. The valve is cordingly actuated to admit compressed air to restored'by reversing this procedure, an may a diaphragm motor operatively connected to the be rapidly and simply released or replaced in a tube valve for opening the latter to admit the moment by simple wrist movements which include liquid-to the-bottle from" the storage tank. The neither disconnection of the air supply pipe, nor 15 air valve body is rigidly connected to the air theu'se of tools. I supply pipe, and when it is necessary to clean For amor'e complete understanding of the in the valve or to replace worn parts, as is trevention, reference may be had to the accompany-'- quently the case, the air pipe rnust'be discon' ing drawing,- in whioh, p

nected from the valve before the latter canbe Figure 1 is an elevation of a dispenser for car-' 20 unscrewed from the body of the dispenser to gain bonated water or other liquid, embodying the new access to the valve, which, even then, is 'not valve of this invention; readily accessible. The laborious and-time-con- Figure 2 is an axial section through the newsuming task of cleaning the considerable nurh-' valve in'olosed position, as seen along the line her of dispensing valves with which each machine 2:2 of Figure 1; i l l is equipped, requires the use of wrenches and Figure 3 is a similar view illustrating the valve other tools, and results in the loss of service of inopenposition; the machine for a period of time out of all propor- Figure 4 is a transverse section as seen along tion to the nature of the work required. i the line i -4 of Figure 2;

In accordance with the present invention, a Figure 5 is an axial section at right angles to novel valve for liquid-dispensing machines is the section of Figure 2, asseen along theline provided, which can be readily taken apart for 5 5 of Figure 4; cleaning without disconnecting or otherwise dis- Figures is a transverse section through the turbing the air pipe connection thereto, or makvalve at its seat, as seen along the line 6-6 of ing it necessarytci disconnect the valve body from Figure 2; the dispenser on which it is mounted, it beingonly Figure 7 illustrates the manner in which the necessary to remove the valve-packing gasket, valve is taken apart, and and give the valve a quarter-turn to release it Figure 8 illustrates the new air valve of this for cleaning and repairing, and this is done by invention.

hand without requiring any tools. 'In'th'e drawing, numeral 20 designates the bot More particularly, the new valve of this in tom of the storage tank for the carbonated vention comprises a valve body which may be beverage under pressure, or other liquid which more or less permanently secured to the dispenser, is tobe dispensed tobottles or other containers; and also more or less permanently connectedto Seated within an opening in the bottom of storage.

the air supply pipe. The interior of the'body, is tank 20 over a sealing gasket 21, is the dispenser 45 provided with an elongated opening forming valve 22 which is of more or less standard construe: seat flanges, one of which has a passage connecttion, including a base 23' having upwardly ex: ing the interior of the valve body withthe' air tending rods 24, at least one of which is pierced, supply pipe. The valve is T-shaped and its elonwith an air passage 25 which communicates with gated head is adapted to fit within the elongated a diaphragm motor 26 of standard construction 5 valve body opening and, when given a quarterhaving connected to its diaphragm a depending turn, to rest upon the valve seat flange in the rod 27 which passes downwardly through the valve body to close the air passage, rubber or dispensing tube 28 extending below the bettom other plugs being provided on the valve head for of the tank 20. The rod 27 is connected at its I sealing the passage and being" pressed tightly lower end to a valve 29 which normally closes the 55 lower end of the dispensing tube 28, being held closed by air pressure, and being unseated by the downward movement of the diaphragm motor 26 when compressed air is admitted thereto. The motion of the motor 26 is communicated to the liquid valve 29 by red 27, and the valve opens to permit the liquid to fiow from the tank 20 into the bottle.

Slidably mounted on the dispensing tube 28 is a valve lifter 30 adapted to be raised by the mouth of a bottle elevated in alignment with the dispensing tube 28 by mechanism, not shown, so that the tube 28 projects into the bottle and the valve lifter 30 raises the stem 31 to actuate the air valve, which accordingly admits compressed air from air supply pipe 32 to the diaphragm motor 26 through air valve body 33 and air passage 25 to open liquid valve 29 in the manner described. a

As was previously mentioned, the air valve within the air valve body 33 is practically inaccessible in dispensing machines of standard construction, and access thereto can only be gained by disconnecting air supply pipe 32 and unscrewing the various parts of the air valve mechanism by means of wrenches and other tools and with a considerable expenditure of labor and time.

In the arrangement or" the present invention, the newair valve, to all outward appearances, resembles the arrangement of standard machines so that only a few additional parts are necessary to convert the standard dispensing machine into the arrangement of this invention. For example, the base 23 of the dispenser 22 is utilized without change, as is illustrated in Fig. 2, as are the dispensing tube 28, the coupling ring 34, the gasket 35 which seals the joint between the base 23 and the valve body 33, as well as the valve packing gasket 36, the screw ring 3'7, and other lesser parts of the dispenser.

Instead of the usual circular opening within the valve body 33, the latter is provided with an elongated opening formed by valve seat flanges 38, one of which, is pierced with an air opening 39 which communicates with the nipple 40 to which the compressed air supply pipe 32 is connected. The usual mushroom air valve is replaced by a T-shaped valve 41 having an elongated head 42 connected to the tubular valve stem 31 and adapted to fit Withinthe elongated opening of the valve body 33 which is formed by the valve seat flanges 38, in the manner described. The opposite arms of the elongated head 42 of the air valve 41 are provided with rubber sealing plugs 43, one of which normally closes the air passage 39 as the plug 43 engages corresponding valve seat flange 38. Two plugs 43 are provided so that it is impossible to insert the valve incorrectly; that is to say, when the valve is seated within the valve body 33, one of the plugs 43 will always close the air passage 39. The light spring 44 engages the head 42 of the valve 41 and urges the plugs 43 air-tightly against the valve seat flanges 38. In order to engage the rubber plugs 43 with the valve seat flanges 38, it is necessary to give the valve 41 a quarter-turn after the head 42 thereof has been inserted in the elongated passage within the valve body 33.

The valve 42 is held against turning and is properly centered with respect to the valve seat flanges 38 by a U-shaped keeper 45, shown especially in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, and including the ringshaped base 46 having the upwardly projecting arms 47 which fit closely against the lateral sides of the valve head 42, in the manner illustrated especially in Fig. 4, so that the valve head 42 is locked within the valve body 33 in the proper position. Assembly of the valve is completed by the insertion of the valve packing gasket 36 and the screwing home of the screw-ring 37.

In operation, the air valve of this invention functions precisely as the standard air valve, in response to actuation by the valve lifter 30 which engages valve stem 31 to unseat the valve head 42 from the valve seat flanges 38 and open the air passage 39 to permit the compressed air to pass the valve and then flow through passage 25 to the diaphragm motor 26 for unseating filling tube valve 29 to permit the liquid from storage tank 20 to flow downwardly through filling tube 28 into the bottle or other receptacle which actuated valve lifter 30 in the usual way.

In order to disassemble the valve for cleaning or repair, it is only necessary to unscrew screwring 3'7 to release valve-packing gasket 36 and keeper 45. Then the projecting stem 31 of airvalve 41 is grasped and given a quarter-turn to align the valve head 42 with the elongated opening of valve body 33, whereupon the spring 44 forces the valve 41 outwardly without further manipulation. lfhese few movements may be performed with one hand and without requiring tools of any kind. The removed valve may then be cleaned or repaired, or parts such as rubber plugs 43 replaced, and the like. valve to its normal position, it is only necessary to reverse the process which is done by inserting valve 41 into the valve body 33 with its elongated head 42 in alignment with the elongated opening in the valve body 33 and then giving the valve a quarter-turn to seat it on the valve seat flanges 38. Insertion of the keeper 45 properly centers the valve 41 and prevents it from turning. Replacement of the valve-packing gasket 36 and the screw-ring 37 completes the simple act of assembling the air valve of this invention.

It will be seen that, in addition to the advantages of ready and rapid manual assembly and disassembly of the new valve, rubber plugs 43 of relatively small surface close the air passage 39 under relatively light spring pressure, insuring a tight seat at all times, as compared to the ring-shaped seat of the standard valve which may not provide a continuous seal at all times, especially when it becomes worn.

Although the valve has been illustrated and described as applied to a machine for dispensing liquids under pressure, such as carbonated water, it may be used with equal facility for dispensing fruit juices, beer, syrups, and the like, the ingre dients of which, especially the pulp in fruit juices, are likely to clog the valve. In the new arrangement, the clogging particlesrof fruit juices and sticky syrups may be readily cleaned from the valve after each batch run. Also the valve may be changed to suit various requirements within the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a valve body having an elongated opening, seats at either lateral side of the opening, at least one of which has a passage, and a valve having anv elongated head resting with its ends on the seats to close said passage, said valve being emplaced by inserting the head thereof through the elongated opening and then giving it a partial turn.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a valve body having spaced seats, at least one of which has a passage, and a valve To restore the having a greater length but being narrower in width than the spacing between the seats and resting thereon, said valve being emplaced on the seats by inserting its narrower portion between the seats and giving it a partial turn to engage the ends thereof on the seats.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a valve body having an opening, spaced seats at opposite sides of said opening, at least one of which has a passage, a valve in the opening including lateral extensions resting on the seats, and spaced sealing elements on the extensions for sealing the connection between the seats and the corresponding extensions.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of a valve body having spaced seats, at least one of which has a passage, 2. T-shaped valve having its elongated head fitting between the seats and rotatable a partial turn to engage the same, and means engaging at least one side of said head to lock it against turning.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of a valve body having spaced seats, at least one of which has a passage, a T-shaped valve having its elongated head fitting between the seats and rotatable a partial turn to engage the same, and a keeper engaging the head of the valve to lock it against turning.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination of a valve body having spaced seats, at least one of which has a passage, a T-shaped valve having its elongated head fitting between the seats and rotatable a partial turn to engage the same, and a keeper insertible in the spaces between the seats and the head of the valve to lock the latter against turning.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination of a valve body having spaced seats, at least one of which has a passage, a T-shaped valve having its elongated head fitting between the seats and rotatable a partial turn to engage the same, and a U-shaped keeper spanning the head of the valve to lock the latter in place.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination of a valve body having spaced seats, at least one of which has a passage, a filling tube extending through the valve body, a T-shaped valve slidable thereon and rotatable a partial turn to engage the seats, a keeper on the tube for locking the valve against turning, and means for holding the keeper in position relatively to the valve.

9. In a device of the character described, the combination of a valve body having spaced seats, at least one of which has a passage, a filling tube extending through the valve body, a T-shaped valve slidable thereon and rotatable a partial turn to engage the seats, spaced sealing elements on the valve engaging the seats and a spring engaging the valve for urging the sealing elements against the seats.

10. In a device of the character described, the combination of a valve body having spaced seats, at least one of which has a passage, a T-shaped valve insertible between the seats and emplaced thereon by giving the valve a partial turn, a filling tube extending through the valve body and valve, a removable U-shaped keeper on the valve with its prongs engaging the head thereof to lock it with respect to the seats, and a source of fluid pressure communicating with the valve passage and controlled by the valve.

11. In a device of the character described, the combination of a valve body having spaced seats, at least one of which has a passage, a filling tube passing through the valve body, a T-shaped valve slidable on the tube and resting on the seats with the ends of its head, said valve being emplaced on the seats by giving it a partial turn after insertion of the head thereof between the seats, spaced sealing means between the ends of the valve head and the corresponding seats, a spring urging the valve head against the seats, and a source of fluid pressure connected to the passage and controlled by the valve.

' CHARLES SCHMUTZER. 

